


Dangling From The Precipice

by Benfrosh



Series: A Dragon Among Heroes [7]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes
Genre: "hey do these metaphorical leather pants make my ass look big?", Anxiety, F/F, Kissing, also i got tier 20 thanks to grima carrying me so here you go grima, grima walking out of the dressing room like
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-10-11 13:09:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17447585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Benfrosh/pseuds/Benfrosh
Summary: As Grima reflects on her achievements and enjoys the view in space, Olivia comes by looking for company and... something more.





	Dangling From The Precipice

Grima smiled as she looked out over the horizon. Her legs dangled off the edge of the Aether Keep, swaying to and fro over the glimmering depths below. They were high up now - _very_ high up. It was higher in the sky than Grima had ever flown. Not for lack of ability, she would insist if someone asked. It had merely never occurred to her to expand her reach vertically, to play among the stars themselves. And yet, here she was now, far beyond the clouds, the aurora, and all the ants she had crushed to get here. It was a pleasing sight, to say the least.

"Hey Grima! Slacking again, are we?" A fluttering of wings disturbed Grima's silence, and Olivia and her falicorn rose into view from beneath the edge of the keep. "Shouldn't you be helping out with laundry or kitchen duty or something?"

"Luckily for you, I'm in a good mood today," Grima countered, brushing back one of her pigtails that had been unsettled by the wind. "So I won't kill you for trying to order me around."

Olivia giggled. "I'd still like to see you try." She stood up on her stirrups and, in one quick motion, pulled her legs up to her saddle and kicked out, launching herself into a somersault up and over her falicorn's head. As she landed with a small thud on the dirt, her legs bending to soften the impact, Grima instinctively applauded. Olivia's head turned in surprise at the noise, but the look quickly passed as she took a deep bow. "Thank you, thank you, you're much too kind."

"Don't think I'm being sarcastic," Grima said as Olivia came to sit next to her. "That was an impressive feat of strength and dexterity, and not just for a human. Your practice has paid dividends."

"Oh! Well... thank you, then." Olivia turned her face away, but Grima was sure she could see the hints of a blush on her cheeks. She decided not to press the matter, however.

"So, what brings you here, Olivia? Surely you have something better to do - my plans for the evening were to sit here and admire the stars," she added with a sweep of her arm. 

"Well, actually..." Olivia replied, trailing off as she sidled closer to Grima's side. "If it's no trouble to you, that sounds lovely to me."

Grima hummed in appreciation. "And if I objected?"

Olivia made no verbal reply, but instead wrapped her arm around Grima's and rested her head on Grima's shoulder.

Grima let out a deep laugh. "You are direct, aren't you. Very well, I can't say I dislike the company."

The two sat in silence for a time. Grima had been merely passively observing the stars before, taking them in in a nearly-meditative state, but now with Olivia at her side she was all too aware of the reality around her. The twinkling of the stars. The glow of the aurora, its colors shifting like the waves. Olivia's soft breathing. The gentle breeze stirring from the keep. Olivia's fingers brushing against Grima's skin. The soft dirt she sat on. Olivia's chest moving with each breath-

"Hey, Grima?" Olivia asked, breaking the silence.

"Mm? Yes? What?" Grima replied, her train of thought mercifully derailed.

"I've been thinking, a lot. About the other week."

"Ah. The kiss." Grima couldn't lie - she had been thinking about it as well. The idea that she might finally be breaking down Olivia's will, finally turning Olivia from a sworn enemy to a devoted servant, aroused Grima, and it was a feeling she was altogether new to and yet intrigued by. But at the same time, it felt a shame to destroy the spirit of someone who interested her so, and as such she had made no move to pull Olivia closer, and instead watch to see what naturally happened. And here it was. 

"I've been thinking it through a lot, and..." Olivia sighed as she ran her free hand through her hair. "It's hard to say, but there's something I have to ask. I'm afraid it's going to ruin everything I've worked on - we've worked on. But..."

Grima raised one finger to Olivia's lips to shush her. "Don't tell me. You're worried that it's a betrayal of your principles. That you'll be turning your back on all of your friends, everyone who's gotten you here. You're scared that by becoming my lover, you'll let down your guard and that my influence will spread once more, undoing the sacrifices all of you have made."

Olivia's eyes widened in surprise, before she burst out into laughter. "Sorry, wh- by gods, I can't-" she got out in short bursts between her laughs.

"B- what's so funny?" Grima sputtered. "Do you not fear my fell influence? Am I not the unending terror that lurks beyond?"

"No, no, you definitely are," Olivia continued, wiping a tear from her eyes as she gasped for breath. "No, Marth and Chrom would just stab us both to death, that's not even remotely a concern of mine. It's just... gods, that's a perfect example, honestly."

"Then what? What stops you?"

"Why are you so _kind_ now?"

Grima blinked in shock.

"You told me you respect me as an equal, but you've gone so far past that. You got me a golden flower. You didn't try to get revenge for me _stabbing you in the throat_. You were worried about corrupting me. Even besides me, you've done so much for everyone here. You've saved everyone's lives dozens of times over. You defeated Surtr when no one else could. You're the reason we're here," Olivia continued, waving her hand at the empty space surrounding the keep. "Your raids are the reason we have the lift to power this keep. By the gods, Grima, you helped with the _chores_ yesterday!"

"I... that was just... to pass the time. Nothing more."

Olivia scoffed. "No one does laundry to pass the time. Something inside you has changed, and... that was supposed to be my job, originally. To keep you corralled until you calmed down. But you've more than calmed down, you're nearly an entirely different person now. The old Grima would have never let a 'worm' ever get close to her like this."

Grima opened her mouth to make reply, but found no words coming forth.

"And... I guess I'm scared," Olivia said, rising from Grima's side and turning to face her directly. "I'm scared that if anything changes, or even if nothing does, one day you'll wake up and decide you're done being the nice, fun, helpful Grima and go back to being..."

"The monster I've always been," Grima concluded for her, still facing towards the stars.

Olivia let out a small chuckle. "Even that. The old Grima never thought she was a monster. She was completely certain in her own right to eliminate all of humanity."

Grima made no reply, even as the fingers on her free hand turned into nails of dark energy as they dug deep troughs into the dirt.

"And... I want to be sure that this is real. That this is you, and not just an act or some weird phase. That you really are making an effort to change, and are learning to live alongside humanity. Because that's the kind of dragon I want you to be, and the Grima I'm falling in love with."

Grima took a deep, shuddering breath. Terror. That was the emotion that overcame her now. She felt it when she was physically dying before, but now... now she was coming face to face with the advent of something new. The Fell Dragon Grima, the one destined to rule the world, the one who wanted to purge humanity for their arrogance, was no more, to be replaced by... what? What drove her now?

"Hey," Olivia whispered, reaching out to hold Grima's hand in her own. "I'm here. What's wrong?"

"I thought... I thought you were the one on the precipice of change," Grima answered haltingly. "I see I was wrong."

"Then... you really are? All this is real?"

Grima nodded, as her first tear fell from her eyes, dark embers playing inside the reflection. "It's this godsdamned body. It's making me... care about people. Be invested in them. In you."

"Is it? Or is it just that you've had so many new experiences? You've never lived among humanity before," she continued as she pat Grima's hand gently. "You'd have no idea what would happen."

"Yes, but it's more than that, it's... I don't want to die," Grima whispered.

Olivia leaned forward and pulled Grima into a hug.

"All my life, I've been so terrified of dying. My creator tried to kill me, Alm tried to kill me, Chrom tried to kill me, and I did everything I could to fight back. To live on, despite everything, and get my revenge. But now... what if I'm dying? What if Grima died when I took the form of this body? If I'm not the same Grima I used to be, what am I?"

"I'll tell you what you are," Olivia answered as she sat upright and turned Grima to face her directly. "You're a Hero. You are the most powerful person in this entire order. You command dozens of the most powerful fighters in any time. Your might and intellect are unparalleled. You are a fascinating individual who never ceases to amaze me. You are the wings of despair. You are the breath of ruin. You are the Fell Dragon Grima. And nothing can ever change that."

Grima sniffled. "Gods, this is humiliating to ask, but... promise?"

Olivia nodded forcefully. "I promise. And I promise I'll be here with you, to help you learn how to live with your new feelings. We humans change every day as we grow, you know. Maybe for once we can teach you something," she added with a grin.

Grima instinctively reached out and pulled Olivia in for a kiss. She expected Olivia to startle, but instead found Olivia all too prepared to return the kiss in kind, their lips joining together into a passionate embrace. It was Grima in the end who finally pulled back, her desire to stay there forever outweighed by her desire to look at her lover once more. "You'll have to help me explain all of this to Tiki, you understand," she finally got out, letting out a small laugh. 

"I still haven't told her about the previous kiss either, so I think we're both going to need some time to prepare our stories."

Grima smiled. "You know, I don't think I'm the most powerful person in this order anymore."

Olivia brushed off the suggestion. "Who could possibly compare to you? I've seen what you did to Hector's armies in the last war game."

"You," Grima answered, tapping Olivia on the nose to make a point of it. "You've finally tamed the Fell Dragon. Be proud."

Olivia smiled flirtatiously. "I hope I haven't tamed you too much. I like seeing your wild side now and again."

"Is that a come-on? If you bring me to bed, I might try to assert my dominance again..." Olivia laughed in response, and Grima fumed. "What, you don't think I could?"

"No, no, it's just... I'm glad to see you proud again. You deserve to be."

Grima scoffed. "How could I not? Your belief in me empowers me more than any thousands of my followers ever had before."

"And I'll be here believing in you. I told you I'd never leave you alone, didn't I? Making you my lover is quite the fair revenge, in my opinion."

Grima hummed in thought. "You know, if you wanted to make it official," she said with a seductive tone to her voice, "I don't think anyone else comes by here this time of day, and you were the only one on patrol..."

"Oh no, you wouldn't dare-"

"I do dare." And Grima pulled Olivia into a kiss as she laid her on the ground, and then...


End file.
